A Slytherin's Revenge
by Rae Kelly
Summary: Slytherin's have their own brand of revenge. Severus Snape has been waiting to get revenge since his early days as a student at Hogwarts. But the person he is seeking revenge against is not who most people would expect. AU. PS/SS.
1. Kit's New Charge

**Title: A Slytherin's Revenge  
Summary: Slytherin's have their own special form of revenge. ****Severus Snape**** has been waiting for this day since he first came to Hogwarts as a student.**

**Warning: Mild CP**

There was a tradition in Slytherin House that had been practiced since the early days of Hogwarts School, but few outside the House knew of this tradition. After the Sorting, each Slytherin First Year was assigned a Fifth Year. During the next three years they were to room with their assigned student and serve them. Fourth year would be spent in a common dorm with other Fourth Years and during their fifth year it would be their turn to have a younger student assigned to them.

The theory behind this practice was the OWL year and the two years at the NEWT level were so stressful on students that they needed someone to help take care of small chores so that they could spend extra time studying. It also taught young students, many who were wealthy purebloods who had never lifted a finger, responsibility and a few simple household chores. Most older students did not take too much advantage of the younger students who had been chosen to serve them, however there were always exceptions.

When a young Severus Snape had been Sorted into Slytherin House, he had taken a seat next to Fifth Year prefect Lucius Malfoy. Lucius had clapped him on the shoulder in congratulations and greeting as he sat down. But this was also a signal to Professor Slughorn, Slytherin Head of House, that Lucius was claiming the little half-blood student.

Lucius Malfoy had been almost as cruel and exacting as the younger boy's drunken Muggle father, keeping young Severus so busy that there were times he barely managed to get his homework done, often times losing what precious little sleep Lucius afforded him in order to get his work done. After less than a week at Hogwarts, Severus vowed to get revenge.

And now was the day for that revenge. Lucius Malfoy's only child, the son he had been training to take his place from birth, was standing in front of the staff table with the other First Years waiting to be sorted.

Unlike Slughorn, Severus never allowed his Fifth Years to claim First years. No, he assigned his First Years to the student he felt would be the best match for them. He had gotten quite good at reading people thanks to his years as a spy.

There were two ways he could go about this. He could assign the Malfoy heir to Marcus Flint, who he knew would be just as cruel as Lucius had been to him and was probably the most disgusting student had had seen in all his years of teaching. Or he could assign the boy to Christopher "Kit" Pelham.

He knew as a teacher that he shouldn't have favorite students, but Kit was special. Severus had found him as a baby, abandoned in an alley, a note pinned to the filthy sheet he had been wrapped in. He had taken the infant to his house and had nearly lost him three times during that long night. But the boy was a fighter and had pulled through. He had wanted to take the boy in, but as the Dark Lord was still rising to power and Severus was spying for Dumbledore, he knew that he couldn't take in a muggle child. It wouldn't be safe for the baby. So he begged an older muggle couple he had known growing up to take him as a foster child. He told them that he was the boy's godfather, but couldn't take care of him physically. However, he could help support him financially and he wanted to be a part of the boy's life. He had been thrilled beyond words when the boy started showing signs of accidental magic. Kit's foster mother had died shortly after Kit came to Hogwarts and his foster father wouldn't survive the year, but they hadn't told Kit yet. His foster father didn't want him to know yet. Once the older man died, Severus would tell Dumbledore exactly what he could do with his meddling and he would take the boy in like he had wanted to all those years ago.

Yes, Kit would be perfect for young Draco, who was also Severus' godson, though there was no affection whatsoever between Severus and his youngest godson. Severus thought Draco was a spoiled brat and someone needed to put him in his place, but Lucius would never allow him to lay a hand on his son. He still hated Lucius for the way the older Slytherin had treated him all those years before and had been rather surprised to be named the brat's godfather. Lucius had explained that Severus was the closest thing he had to a brother and that is why he was given the honor. Severus had had a hard time not telling the Slytherin exactly what he thought of him.

When Draco was Sorted into Slytherin, Severus nodded at the boy and gestured for him to go to the Slytherin table. He then caught Kit's eye and the Fifth Year prefect smirked and nodded in return. Severus turned his attention back to the rest of the students waiting to be Sorted, seeing Kit greet Draco out of the corner of his eye.

--

After giving his usual Slytherin House Rules speech, Severus sent all but his first and fifth years to bed. He quickly explained to the first years the system in place in Slytherin House and then began to pair up his snakes, leaving Draco and Kit for last. Once all the other pairs had left the common room, he led his two godsons into his personal quarters.

Draco's eyes grew wide as the older Slytherin followed them. "Godfather? Why is he in here?"

Severus sighed. "Mr. Malfoy, I explained to you before that here at school you must refer to me as 'Professor' or 'Sir'. In answer to your question, Mr. Pelham is also my godson."

"What?!"

"Control yourself, Mr. Malfoy. I brought you in here to tell you that you are to obey Mr. Pelham as you obey me. He has the authority to assign punishments to you if you do not...and do not think that I will override them just because I am your godfather. Remember, there will be no trying out for the House team next year without Mr. Pelham's approval."

"But..."

"Dismissed!"

When Draco started to protest, Kit grabbed him by the collar, rolled his eyes at his godfather over the boy's head and drug him from the room. He led the boy to their room. "Welcome to your home for the next three years," Kit told him.

The room was sparsely furnished with two beds (one larger than the other), two desks with straight-backed chairs, two wardrobes and two armchairs in front of the fireplace.

Draco started toward the larger and more comfortable looking bed, but Kit grabbed him by the collar again. "Not so fast, short stuff. That's my bed. The smaller one is yours."

"Why do you get the bigger bed?" Draco asked, trying to get free of the older boy's strong grip. "And I'm not short!"

"I get the bigger bed because I'm older. And there is nothing you can do about it, short stuff. Just remember what our godfather said," he told the boy, giving him a shove toward the smaller bed.

Draco turned, pulling out his wand out and pointing it at the older boy. He knew a few hexes that his father had taught him and he was willing to use them.

"Don't even think about it, Malfoy," Kit said, as if reading Draco's thoughts. "Use one of those hexes and you'll regret it."

"What hexes?" Draco asked innocently.

Kit crossed his arms and looked down at the younger boy, looking like a blond version of his godfather. "I've got a couple of rules. You follow them and we'll get along splendidly. First, don't get an attitude with me. You do and you'll be scrubbing the loo with your toothbrush. Second, you do what I tell you, when I tell you. Third, do not lie to me."

"You can't do this is me!" Draco protested, his wand still pointed at Kit. "I'll tell me Father."

Kit just laughed. "Go ahead. But he was once where you were too. And our godfather was assigned to him as a first year. So he understands the system. Slytherins are big on tradition. There is nothing he can do about it except pull you out of Hogwarts."

Growling, Draco turned and stalked toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Kit asked him.

"To talk to MY godfather!"

With a lazy flick of his wand, Kit locked the door. "The only place you are going is to bed. You have class in the morning."

"You can't tell me what to do!"

Kit just crossed his arms and glared at the boy.

"Let me out you bastard!"

Kit's wand disappeared in his sleeve and he once again grabbed the boy by the collar, dragging him into the bathroom they shared. He seemed oblivious to the younger boy's struggling. Once in the bathroom, he lifted the boy up to sit on the counter, grabbing a vial off of the nearby shelf. "Our godfather gave me this a couple years ago," he said, opening the vial. He grabbed Draco's jaw and held the vial to the younger boy's lips. "Open."

Draco shook his head.

"We're going to sit here until you do. Open!"

Draco shook his head again.

"Damn it, kid…Look, the professor has used this stuff on many a student and it hasn't killed anyone yet. He only had to use it on me once and I never swore again. At least not in his presence," he said with a chuckle. "Now this is going in your mouth and it's going to stay there for a whole minute. You aren't going anywhere until you do."

"Can't make me," Draco whispered, opening his mouth as little as possible.

"Ever hear of a Sticking Charm? You try to get up before your punishment is over and I will stick your skinny arse to the counter."

"Ain't skinny."

"You are short and skinny, but you'll grow. If I don't strangle you first. Now, are we going to do this or do I have to use the Sticking Charm?"

Draco crossed his arms and glared at the older boy.

"Have it your way," Kit said, slipping his wand into his hand and using the promised charm on the boy, before heading back into their bedroom. He took off his robes and hung them in the wardrobe. Taking the book that his godfather had given him, he sat in front of the fire, waiting for the little brat to call him.

Draco glared through the door at the older student, who was ignoring him. No one ignored him! And no one punished him either! As soon as he could he was going to send an owl to Father.

He wiggled a bit and found that he couldn't move much. Sighing, he leaned back against the mirror, glancing through the door again. Just who was this guy anyway and who did he think he was to treat the Heir of Malfoy like that? "How long are you going to make me sit here?" he asked.

"You know the answer to that," Kit answered from the other room.

"But why?"

Kit got up and walked back to the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe. "You're an arrogant, spoiled brat, kid, and you won't last long like that. Someone needs to teach you the proper respect."

"I'm a Malfoy. We don't have to respect anyone."

"That sort of attitude is only going to get you in trouble. I'm not going to tolerate it and neither will our godfather. He is the Head of our House and he insists on respect from all of us, his snakes. But most particularly the first years.

"He also requires his snakes to follow all school rules. No exceptions. That's part of my job. To make sure that you follow the rules. And if you get in trouble, so do I. You get a detention with another professor and we both get one with Snape. I'm telling you now, that if that happens I will not be happy and you will regret it."

"You…" Draco said his eyes wide. "You can't be serious…"

Kit raised an eyebrow. "I'm quite serious. We're you paying attention to the professor's little speech?"

"Not really…" the younger boy admitted.

"Alright. I'm going to go over it with you one more time, so listen closely. This system has been in place in Slytherin House for several hundred years. It gives younger students a mentor…some one who can help them adjust to being away from home. Assigning them to an older student also makes things easier on the Head of House. The older student is responsible for the younger student's behavior as well as making sure that they are doing well in their studies. Since the start of the OWLs and NEWTs, the younger student has also assisted with simple chores in order to give the older students more time to study. It's almost like an unofficial apprenticeship.

"The Slytherins are the only ones who use this system because our House tends to attract the most purebloods and most purebloods are traditionalists. And because of this system Slytherin students are also the most well adjusted students.

"While I've got your attention, I'm going to let you know this now. Our Head of House will appear to let you get away with anything in public. However, he will let you have it later in private. He does this because all the other professors, with the exception of Sinistra, won't let us get away with anything. In fact, they look for reason to take away points or assign detentions."

"You can't really…make me drink that stuff, can you?" Draco asked him, glancing at the bottle sitting just out of reach.

"That's not something you drink, kid. Its mouthwash…and it's quite disgusting, trust me."

"Mouthwash?"

"Yes. You keep it in your mouth until I give you permission to spit it out."

"Why?"

"To teach you not to swear at me, for one thing."

Draco crossed his arms again. "I'm still not going to let you do it."

"Suit yourself," Kit said, turning to go back into the bedroom. "But I'm going to bed soon and if we don't do this now, you can just sit there until morning."

"No…" Draco said softly as Kit disappeared.

"What was that?" Kit called back.

"Just get back in here and get this over with so that I can go to bed. Mother says I'm cranky if I don't get my sleep."

Kit came back and gave him another look. "If you don't get your sleep? You've been 'cranky' since you got here."

"I'm tired," Draco whined. "It's been a long day…"

"Don't whine," Kit told him, stepping back in front of him. He picked up the vial with a flick of the wrist that released the Sticking Charm.

Draco whimpered as the bottle was lifted to his lips again. But as he realized what was about to happen, he started to fight, trying to push Kit's hand away.

Kit easily caught the boy's jaw again and forced his mouth open, pouring in a little of the mouthwash. "Don't swallow," he told the younger boy, keeping a firm grip on his jaw.

The younger Slytherin continued to struggle, this time because of the awful taste of the mouthwash. In his struggles to get out of the older Slytherin's grip in order to spit out the foul-tasting liquid, he accidentally swallowed most of it.

Kit noticed the sudden wide-eyed look on the younger boy's face. "You swallowed it, didn't you?" Draco nodded, starting to look like he was going to be sick. Swearing colorfully, Kit pulled him off the counter and shoved his head over the toilet just in time for the younger boy to vomit into the basin.

Draco whimpered as he continued to lose what little he had eaten at dinner and all the sweets he had gorged himself on during the train ride.

With a deep sigh, Kit leaned back against the cabinet that Draco had just been sitting on. He raked his fingers through his hair before covering his face with his hands. What had he done? When Draco let out a soft sob, Kit flicked a wrist and a gleaming, silver owl appeared. The owl hovered for a moment before landing on his shoulder. Kit reached up and stroked the owl's silvery breast, whispering softly to the bird. With a quick bob of the head, the owl took flight and left the room. Remembering the times when he had been sick as a child, Kit moved closer to the boy, one arm slipping under him to support him as he brought his other hand up to brush the hair off his brow, whispering comforting words to him.

When Draco finished emptying the contents of his stomach, he weakly leaned against the older Slytherin, not even caring that moments before he had hated the boy. Right now he just wanted the contact.

Kit helped the boy shed his school robes and then stood, easily lifting the smaller boy into his arms and carrying him to his bed. Slipping his wand into his hand, he transfigured the boy's clothes into pajamas, before tucking him in.

Severus walked into the room as Draco curled up on his side. "What happened?"

"He called me a bastard," Kit told him, moving away from the younger boy. "And I used the mouthwash…he swallowed some of it and threw up."

He squeezed the older boy's shoulder as he sat beside Draco. "Here Draco," he said, holding out a vial of Stomach Soother. The younger boy whimpered, but lifted his head and drank the potion. He curled up on his side and fell asleep after a few minutes.

Kit sat in the chair by the fire and put his head in his hands.

Severus walked over and placed a hand on the boy's neck. "What's wrong, son?"

"I screwed up," Kit replied, not looking up but relaxing a bit under the comforting touch.

The man sat on the arm of the chair. "I once thought I had screwed up with you. Do you remember?"

Kit nodded, remembering back to a time when he had been seven and had gotten into quite a bit of trouble with his godfather.

_Seven-year-old Kit Pelham stood in the corner of the kitchen while his foster mother, Ruth Sharpe, talked into the magic mirror that his godfather had given them, should they need to contact him in case of an emergency. And getting suspended from school for fighting was an emergency. Especially when the fight had started because Kit had told some of the boys in his class about the accidental magic he had displayed the week before. He'd used wish magic and made his toy soldiers, __Royal Marines__ like his foster father Paul, come to life long enough to have a small mock battle on the floor of his bedroom._

_It had been a battle worthy of Pop's stories and he had thought his friends would be just as excited as he was. Only he had forgotten that he wasn't supposed to talk about magic to anyone. What had started as an argument had become a fight, but only Kit had been suspended. Glancing over his shoulder, he tried to eavesdrop on the conversation._

_"What do you want me to do, Sev?" Nan was asking his godfather._

_"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," the man answered. He taught potions at Hogwarts and Kit knew he was in trouble if his godfather was leaving during school to come. "Tell him to make a list of everyone who who told or who heard the argument. I have a lot of memory charms to go cast and I don't want to miss any."_

_Kit wiggled where he stood in the corner. That tone of voice wasn't good! He'd heard his godfather use it on one of his students before. And that boy, a really big boy, had broken down in tears. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder._

_"You heard him, Christopher," Nan told him. Oh! His real name! Big, big trouble! "Let's sit down and make that list."_

_He followed her over to the table where she sat down and started writing all the names he told her. As the list grew longer and longer, he began to get even more worried._

_Severus Snape__ stalked through the front door exactly when he said he would and Kit looked up at him nervously, one finger in his mouth. "Daddy..." Severus was his godfather, but he had stubbornly refused to call his godfather anything else from the time he first started talking._

_"Come Christopher," the Potions Master said, heading up the stairs to Kit's room._

_Kit trotted after him, sniffling._

_Once in Kit's room, Severus turned to the boy. "Are you hurt?" He asked, though his voice wasn't filled with the kindness it usually held._

_"My cheek hurts...and my mouth."_

_Severus sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the boy in front of him, inspecting his wounds. "Looks like you've gotten yourself a shiner and a split lip. They are going to hurt a bit."_

_"Can I have a potion to make them all better?"_

_"I'll think about it," he said, standing. He took the chair from the desk and turned it to face the only empty corner. "Sit." Kit climbed into the chair. "I have to go deal with this and then I'll be back to deal with you." He walked out of the room without another word._

_Tears running silently down his cheeks, Kit stared at the walls in front of him. He had really messed up and Nan and Pop and Daddy weren't going to want him anymore. Especially not after he had told those kids at school about his magic. He knew he wasn't supposed to do that, but he had just wanted to...he had just wanted to impress them._

_What seemed like days later, Kit finally heard his godfather's footsteps in the hall._

_Severus walked into the room and pulled his godson from the chair he had been sitting in. He walked over to the bed, sat down, turned the boy over his knee and gave him ten firm swats on the backside. Kit cried loudly and wiggled from the first, reaching back to rub his abused bum when Severus put him back on his feet. "Do you realize what you've done?!" He demanded of the boy._

_"I told..." Kit cried, tears rolling down his cheeks._

_"That's right. You told. And you could have gotten me into serious trouble, Christopher!" He said, using that tone that made even the biggest kids he taught cry. Kit put his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he cried. "If the wrong people had found out I could have died. You, Nan and Pop too. Do you want that?"_

_"No!" Kit wailed._

_"Well, it could happen if you aren't careful. Not only because we have to keep our world secret but because there are wizards out there who would kill me if they thought I wasn't on their side anymore. They wouldn't think twice about killing you, Nan and Pop too."_

_"I'm sorry, Daddy..." He cried. "I'm so sorry! Please don't send me away! I'll be good! I promise! Just don't send me away!"_

_Severus found that he could no longer be angry at the miserable little boy in front of him. "Send you..." He pulled Kit into his arms. "You silly boy..."_

The Potions Master gently began to massage his oldest godson's neck. "I overreacted that day because I was angry. I should have done nothing that would have caused you to think that I would send you away. Just remember that it's never a good idea to punish a child, any child, in anger. When you do it is very easy to do more harm than good.

"Spoiled brats like Draco are going to test your patience and if you ever feel yourself start to lose your temper, Stick him to a chair and walk away and cool down." He ruffled the boy's hair. "You did a good job for your first day. And if you ever need any advice, feel free to come talk to me. I will also speak to Draco again about listening to you."

Kit smiled up at him. "Thanks Dad."

**AN: This started as an idea that wouldn't leave me alone. I've been working on it for the last several days. Thanks to Snapegirlkmf for the encouragement to finish this chapter. I wouldn't have finished it without you. Inspiration for this fic was drawn from several sources of classic literature.**


	2. Kit Lays Down the Law

Because of his upbringing in the home of a retired Royal Marine, Kit Pelham liked routine. Every morning he woke up early and went running, trying to stay in shape for Quidditch. He never did anything halfway and that went for his position as Chaser on the Slytherin team too.

After a shower, Kit either looked over his homework one last time before turning it in or spent an hour reading from the textbooks that his godfather gave him. In his third year he had opted to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. He had considered Divination because he thought it sounded interesting, but his godfather had quickly put a stop to that idea. Instead they studied magical creatures together during the summer, often traveling to other countries to see the actual creatures rather than just reading about them in books.

Kit was also fascinated by languages and proved to be a very quick study and since the summer before coming to Hogwarts had learned a new language each summer.

Draco hadn't stirred when Kit left for his morning run, but he whimpered and burrowed further under his blankets when Kit returned. Kit left him there while he showered but after getting dressed he walked over to the boy's bed. "Get up, Malfoy." Draco just groaned and covered his head with his pillow. Rolling his eyes, Kit pulled the pillow away. "Up!"

"Go'way," the young boy muttered.

"It's time to get up for class. You have five seconds before I banish that bed." After counting the boy still hadn't moved, so Kit banished the bed as he had promised with a flick of his wrist and Draco fell to the floor in a tangle of bedding. "I warned you, Malfoy. Now get up and go shower. You're running out of time."

Draco was muttering under his breath as he fought his way out of the bedding.

Kit caught his chin as soon as the boy got on his feet. "Watch what you say or you will be getting another taste of that mouthwash."

The younger boy pulled away before stomping into the bathroom and slamming the door.

Kit sat down at his desk and took out his quill. He started writing in his journal, yet another habit of his. Typically, he wrote in whatever language he was currently learning, his entries a mixture of English and whatever language he was working on until he knew enough to write whole entries in that language. Today he was writing in German.

After half an hour Kit realized that the water was still running in the bathroom. Sighing he got up and banged on the door. "Hurry up in there, Malfoy." When there was no reply he opened the door to find Malfoy sleeping on the floor while the water ran in the shower.

He picked the boy up by the collar and shoved him under the cold water. Draco sputtered and struggled to get out of the water. After a moment Kit shut off the water and let him go. "Now go get dressed," he said, heading back into their bedroom.

Draco followed Kit and stood staring at his wardrobe, dripping water on the floor.

"What are you waiting for?" Kit snapped, loosing patience with his young charge. "Dry off and get dressed."

The younger boy stared at Kit, his lower lip trembling. "I don't know how..."

Kit stopped shoving books into his bag and turned to look at the boy who looked close to tears. "What?"

"I don't know how," Draco whined.

"How old are you?" Kit asked harshly.

"'leven..." Came he whispered reply as the young aristocrat looked at the floor.

Kit sighed. "You're eleven and you don't know how to dress yourself?"

Draco nodded his wet head. "The house elves always dress me using their magic."

Swearing, Kit stalked over to the boy's wardrobe and threw open the doors. He pulled out clean underwear, a clean uniform and the boy's Hogwarts robes. Tossing the clothing on his own bed, he sat down. "I'm only going to help you once. Tomorrow you're on your own for everything but your tie. That's a little tricky." Kit slid his wand into his hand and cast a drying charm on the boy before banishing the pajamas that he had transfigured the night before. He handed the boy his underwear. "I trust you know where this belongs."

Blushing, Draco stepped into them and pulled them up.

With as much patience as he could muster, Kit helped the boy into his clothes, allowing him to sit on his bed while Kit helped him with his socks and shoes. "Can you brush your own hair?" When Draco shook his head, Kit wandlessly summoned the boy's hairbrush.

"You can do wandless magic?" Draco asked as Kit brushed his hair.

"Not much," he lied. "Mostly just summoning things."

"Can you teach me?"

Kit chuckled. "You don't learn summoning charms until fifth year. Wanded summoning charms."

"You know them…wandless," Draco told him.

"Yes and I had to prove myself to our godfather before he would teach me. Let's see how well you do this year and then we'll talk about teaching you advanced magic."

"A whole year?"

"A whole year, short stuff."

"Don't call me that," Draco said, bouncing off the bed like a little kid. "Father's already taught me a whole bunch of hexes and curses and stuff."

Kit stood as well. "I can just imagine what he's been teaching you. But you better not be using any of that here because if I earn a detention because of you, I'm going to make you miserable. Got it?"

"Got it," Draco said, taking his schoolbag from the older boy. "Umm…What am I supposed to call you?"

"You may call me Kit or Pelham," he replied, leading the boy from the room.

"Is your real name Kit?"

"No. It's a nickname our godfather gave me as a baby and it stuck."

Draco was quiet as they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. "K-Kit?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you close to Godfather? You talk about him a lot."

"You can say that. He helped raise me and before I started at Hogwarts I used to spend my summers with him. We still take a trip together every summer."

Draco sighed. "I've really only ever seen him on my birthday every year. I don't think he likes me too much."

"I'm sure he likes you, short stuff," Kit said, giving the boy's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Just stop acting like such a brat to him."

"I don't know any other way to act," the younger boy admitted.

"Guess I have my work cut out for me then."

--

Draco grabbed the idiot Longbottom's Remembrall off the ground and took off on the school broom in his hand. "Come and get it, Potter," he called over his shoulder. He was quite surprised when Potter managed to get off the ground and come after him.

"Give it here or I'll knock you off that broom!" the Gryffindor threatened.

"Catch it if you can, then!" Draco shouted, throwing the glass ball as hard as he could and then landing with ease. He watched as Harry Potter streaked through the air and just barely caught the ball before crashing into the ground.

"HARRY POTTER!" Draco looked over his shoulder to see Professor McGonagall coming toward them. "Come with me, Potter," she said. "Malfoy, go to my office."

"But…"

"Now!"

Sighing deeply, the blond Slytherin hurried to do as she said, remembering Kit's words a few days before about earning a detention. He stood outside the Deputy Headmistress' office door for what seemed like hours before she finally came, Kit in her wake. Seeing the look on the older Slytherin's face, Draco cringed and looked down at the floor.

"Mr. Malfoy," the woman said. "Your Head of House tells me that Prefect Pelham is responsible for you and your punishment for disobeying Madame Hooch. Prefect Pelham has persuaded me against giving you a detention, but should I catch you doing something like that again…"

"It won't happen again, Professor McGonagall," Kit said, still giving the younger boy a look that rivaled the Potions Master's. "I will make sure of that."

"See that you do, Mr. Pelham," she told him before stepping into her office and closing the door.

"It hasn't even been a week and you're already in trouble…" Kit told the younger boy. Shaking his head, he grabbed Draco by the ear and led him down to their dormitory in the dungeons. Draco protested rather loudly and tried to free his ear from the tight grip, but to no avail. Kit only let him go once they were alone in their room. He grabbed a quill from Draco's desk and transfigured it into a toothbrush. "Get in there and start scrubbing."

"You aren't serious…" the young aristocrat said, giving Kit an incredulous look.

"Quite. Now move."

"But…but…I don't know how."

Sighing, Kit pulled the boy into the bathroom. He transfigured a small bucket and filled it with soapy water before setting it on the floor. "You get on the floor and use that toothbrush and the water to clean the floor. You'll figure it out." With that he turned and went back to the class he had been pulled out of.

As soon as the door closed behind Kit, Draco threw the toothbrush at the door. He was a Malfoy and Malfoys didn't clean up after themselves. No way. No how. That was what house elves were for. After a few minutes of glaring at the door, he walked out into the bedroom and tried to leave, only to find the door locked. Using every swear word he knew, Draco stormed around the room throwing whatever he could get his hands on and pitching a royal fit. He finally threw himself on his bed and crossed his arms as he glared up at the ceiling. This just wasn't fair! Who was this Kit Pelham really? As soon as he was let out of here he was going to have to write a letter to Father and Father would take care of it.

Draco was still lying on his bed staring at the ceiling when Kit returned. "What the hell happened in here?" Kit asked the younger boy, surveying the damage. "Never mind. I have a good idea of what happened." He glanced toward the bathroom and noticed the bucket of water sitting exactly where he had left it. "You didn't do what I told you to do."

"You can't make me do anything," Draco told him. "Especially not cleaning. Malfoys don't clean."

"At Hogwarts you are not a Malfoy. You are a Slytherin. A first year Slytherin."

"You still can't tell me what to do!" Draco snapped.

Kit tossed his bag on his desk and dropped into one of the chairs by the fire. "I'd like to see you tell that to our godfather."

The younger boy slid off his bed. "I will!" he responded, stomping from the room. He stalked out of the Slytherin dorm and across the common room, knocking loudly on his godfather's door.

A moment later Severus threw open the door. "What is it, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I want to talk to you," the boy demanded.

He stepped aside, allowing the boy to enter. He closed the door and moved to leave against his desk, his arms crossed. "Well?"

"I don't have to do as he says," Draco said defiantly.

"And why not?" Severus asked.

"He wants me to clean the loo. With a toothbrush!"

"After the stunt you pulled, I'd say that's a fairly mild punishment. I can guarantee you that had this system not been in place in Slytherin House, I would have given you something much worse," the Potions Master told his youngest godson.

"Malfoys don't clean," he said again.

"If you wish to remain at Hogwarts, you will return to your dorm and do as Mr. Pelham has told you."

The boy snorted. "You can't kick me out of Hogwarts for that."

"You're right," Severus told him. "But I can write to your father and tell him that you refuse to uphold the traditions that have been in place in Slytherin House since the days of the founding of this institution. How do you think he will react to that letter?"

Draco was quiet for a moment before answering. "He would not be happy, but surely he doesn't expect me to act like a house elf."

"Do you even do chores using magic?" he asked the boy, knowing the answer.

"Chores?"

"Making your bed…cleaning up after yourself…"

"Why should I waste energy doing that when the house elves can do that with a snap of their fingers?"

"The house elves do not clean up after Slytherin House. If you wish to continue having them clean up after you then you should go home or be resorted. Perhaps to Gryffindor…"

"No!"

Severus looked at his godson. "Sit down Mr. Malfoy and listen carefully." After a moment of hesitation, Draco sat down and looked up at his godfather. "At Malfoy Manor you may not be expected to answer for your actions, but here at Hogwarts and in the world outside of Malfoy Manor all actions have consequences. Some times they are good and some times those consequences are bad. Every action has a reaction, Draco," he said earnestly, hoping that his words were getting through to the boy. "When you don't do as you are told that is disobedience. Unlike some of the other Houses, Slytherin does not reward disobedience or rule breaking. Your cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush is the punishment for your disobedience."

"That's a little harsh, isn't it?" Draco asked in a whisper.

"At Durmstrang you would have been caned."

"Caned?" Draco asked confused.

He nodded and watched the boy for a moment. "Stand up and remove your robe." After a moment of hesitation, Draco did as he was told.

Slipping his wand into his hand, he grabbed his godson's arm and turned him around, striking him on the backside with his wand. He didn't swat the boy very hard, but hard enough that he could get an idea of what it was like to be caned. And hopefully that one swat would help straighten out his attitude.

Draco's eyes went wide when his godfather struck him. He had never been struck before. Anywhere. "Ouch." He turned to look back at his godfather.

"Now imagine that had been your father's cane instead of my wand. And imagine twelve strokes only harder instead of the one that I gave you."

"That hurt," he told the Potions Master.

Severus nodded. "It does. And it is a good thing such methods are no longer permitted here at Hogwarts or else that is what you would have received for your little stunt."

Draco reached back to rub his slightly stinging backside. "What about Potter?"

He sighed and leaned against his desk again. "Were such methods still being practiced, you and Potter would both have trouble sitting tonight at dinner. You should be thankful that cleaning the loo is the only punishment Kit gave you."

"What did Potter get?" the boy asked.

Severus crossed his arms, his eyes growing even darker. "Potter was made Seeker of the Gryffindor team."

"He makes Seeker and I have to clean the loo? That's not fair!" Draco protested, pouting.

"I have no control over Potter. I do however have control over you as both your Head of House and your godfather. And I agree with the punishment that Kit gave you."

Draco sighed dramatically. "Do I really have to?"

"Yes, you do. And you will accept any additional punishment that Kit gives you for your actions since."

He stared at his godfather for a moment before nodding and picking up his robes. "Good day, Godfather."

"Good day, Draco," Severus told the boy.

Draco slowly made his way back to his room, stopping short when he stepped into the room. Kit was sitting on the floor in front of his chair near the fireplace. A dark-haired girl about Kit's age was sitting in Kit's chair, rubbing his shoulders as Kit read aloud from a textbook. "Who are you?" Draco asked.

Kit looked up at his young roommate. "Mercy, this is my firstie, Draco Malfoy. Draco…meet Mercedes MacNair, my girlfriend."

He nodded at the girl before looking at Kit again. "We're allowed to have girls in our room?"

"Fifth years and above are allowed to have girls in their rooms as long as the door stays open. What did the professor tell you?"

Draco sighed and went to toss his robe on his bed, but a look from Kit stopped him. He moved to his wardrobe to hang up the robe like Kit had shown him a few days before. "To do as you say or he'll tell Father to come get me."

Kit nodded, hissing when Mercy hit a particularly sore spot between his shoulder blades. "Get to it then. And come find me when you finish so that we can discuss the rest of your behavior today."

"Do I really have to?" he asked, giving Kit his most innocent look.

"Yes. Stop stalling."

He started to go to the bathroom, but turned back to Kit, his cheeks turning slightly pink as he quietly admitted, "I don't know how. I've never had to clean before."

"I'll come show you," Mercy told him, squeezing Kit's shoulder and standing. She put her hand on top of Draco's head and gently turned him toward the bathroom.

Kit leaned back against the chair and watched as his girlfriend explained the basics of cleaning bathrooms to the Malfoy Heir. After a moment he got up and went over to his desk, adding to his weekly letter to his foster father.

After explaining the first couple things that Draco need to do in the bathroom, Mercy took a seat on the counter, planning to stay and talk him through the whole process. Kit had told her of his troubles with the boy and she wanted to spare her boyfriend some stress. As she watched the spoiled little Slytherin, she noticed that he kept looking up at her with a slightly confused look. She turned over her left arm and ran her right thumb quickly over her forearm. To anyone who didn't know, it looked as if she was scratching her arm. But to the two of them it was a signal. A signal to identify themselves to the child of another Death Eater. Draco gave a slight nod and copied the gesture before going back to what he was doing.

The only other words spoken between them in the next hour were Mercy's softly spoken instructions to Draco. As she led him back into the room when he was finished with his chore, she ruffled his hair. She walked over to Kit and kissed his cheek. "I think I should leave the two of you alone now," she told him. He nodded and she slipped from the room, closing the door behind her.

Kit cleared his throat and turned in his chair, looking over at the younger boy. "Front and center," he said, pointing at a spot on the floor in front of him. His tone was one he had often heard from his foster father.

Draco slowly moved over to stand in front of the older Slytherin, his head down. Having to answer for his actions was so very new to him and quite a bit confusing and he wasn't really sure how to react.

"Do you understand why you were punished?" Kit asked him, figuring it best to start simply.

"I disobeyed Madam Hooch."

"And?"

"And fly my broom after I had been told not to."

"Why?"

"Longbottom dropped his Remembrall and I took it. I was going to hide it, but Potter came after me."

Kit sighed. "Not only were your actions disobedient, but they were also very dangerous. You may have been on a broom before, but Potter hasn't. Either one of you could have been hurt." When Draco started to open his mouth and speak, Kit held up his hand. "I don't want to hear about how much time you've spent on a broom or about your personal flying tutor or anything else. I want you to listen. When a teacher gives you instructions, you follow them. End of discussion.

"Now…about your behavior after I told you to clean the loo." Draco made a face, but said nothing. "That was going to be the only punishment you received, but you chose to disobey me as well and threw a fit, destroying our room instead. I'm going to try something with you that Muggle parents often use."

Surely a Mudblood would not be sorted into Slytherin. Though something told him that using the term 'mudblood' in front of this boy would not be very smart. "Your parents are Muggles?" Draco asked, astonished.

"I don't know anything about my parents," Kit told him. "Our godfather found me as a baby and I was raised by a Muggle couple."

"Oh…well…what is it that they do?"

"It's called 'grounding' and it's been used on me a time or two." _Or several_, he finished to himself, not ready to tell this boy just how much he got in trouble as a child.

Draco was a bit surprised that the older boy had ever gotten into trouble, but then remembered what he had said a few days before about getting his mouth washed out. "What does that mean?"

"It means for the next week when you are not in class or at meals you are to be here in our room working on homework or doing chores. You are not to play any games or do any reading for fun. And you are to be in bed at nine o'clock," Kit told him.

"Nine?!" Draco gasped. "That's…that's…I've never been in bed that early."

"For the next week you will be. And if you keep arguing I can make it earlier."

"That's not fair!"

"Then stop arguing with me." Draco sighed dramatically, but nodded. "And remember this next time you feel like throwing a fit when I punish you. Now, you've wasted enough time today. It's time to start on your homework."

Nodding again, Draco moved over to his desk to start on his assignment, vowing to behave…if only for a little while.

**AN: Some lines are direct quotes from the book. Sorry for the long delay, but October is usually my really busy month. Hopefully things will settle down now and I can get some serious writing done.**


	3. Kit's Little Brother

**AN: CP warning for this chapter**

"_You're _joking._"_

_It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it._

"Seeker_?" he said. "But first years _never _– you must be the youngest house player in about-"_

"_-a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."_

_Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry._

"_I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone. Wood wants to keep it a secret."_

_Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over._

"_Well done," said George in a low whisper. "Wood told us. We're on the team too – Beaters."_

"_I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."_

"_Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."_

"_Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."_

_Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle._

"_Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"_

"_You're a lot braver not that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl._

"_I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"_

"_Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"_

_Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up._

"_Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."_

_When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other._

From Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone – pgs 152-153

--

Kit was just coming down the stairs to the dungeons after finishing up his rounds as prefect when he saw Draco and Crabbe coming out of the Slytherin common room. "What do you two think you are doing?" he asked, crossing his arms and looking at them. He was pleased to note that Draco paled visibly.

"N-n-nothing," Draco stuttered.

He put his hand on the back of the boy's neck and pulled him close so that he could whisper in the boy's ear. "You can go do nothing back in our room with your nose in the corner."

"But…" Draco started to protest.

"Argue with me and I'll let your little friend know how you get punished. Not another word. Go to our room and when I get there I want to see you staring at the corner. Is that clear?" He could feel Draco nod under his hand. Kit let go and stood back. "Go on then."

Draco glared at him for a moment before stomping back into the common room.

Kit looked down at Crabbe. "Are you gonna take me to my cousin?" the dark-haired boy asked.

"I most certainly am," Kit replied, leading him into the common room. After leaving Crabbe with his cousin, Marcus Flint, he went to his own room to deal with his troublemaking firstie.

He was rather surprised to find Draco standing in the corner as he had been ordered. Remembering the tone that had worked so well only a few hours before, he sat down in his chair in front of the fire before speaking in his best military voice. "Front and center." Draco came to stand in front of him again, his head down. "Explain yourself. And no lies."

Draco didn't look up as he answered. "I challenged Potter to a duel. At midnight. In the trophy room."

Kit stared at him for a moment before grabbing the boy and turning him over his knee. He gave him half a dozen hard swats on the seat of his trousers before standing him up again.

The boy had barely registered what was going on before he was on his feet again, looking at a very angry Kit. His hand went back to rub his stinging backside. "Ow…"

"What were you thinking?!"

"He was taunting me," the boy whispered pitifully.

"So you challenged him to a duel? A wizard's duel?"

Draco just nodded.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

This time Draco shook his head.

"Is this what you were talking to him about at dinner?"

Again Draco nodded.

"In the Great Hall? That close to the High Table?"

Draco nodded once more.

"Did you even stop to think?"

The boy shook his head again, his eyes glued to the floor once more.

Kit grabbed him and turned him over his knee once more. When the boy began to fight to get away, he easily used the strength in his arms and his position to pin the wiggling boy as he spanked him, not really even aware of his actions.

Knowing what was coming this time, Draco began to struggle to get away from the older boy, but his small size was no match for Kit who held him down easily, raining down smack after smack on this already stinging bum. "Stop." He had never known fear before, but now he was scared. Very scared. And his backside was really starting to hurt. No one had ever treated him like this. Ever. His vision grew blurry as his eyes filled with tears, something else that was new to him. Malfoys didn't cry. "Stop."

He began struggling even harder, but his efforts were useless. After a bit more struggling, he gave up and went limp over the older boy's knees and a sob tore through his frame. "Stop. PLEASE!"

It was the 'please' that finally got through to Kit and he stopped and simply stared down at the sobbing first year that was draped over his knees. What had he done? He'd never lost control like that before. Control was something Pop and his godfather had drilled into him at a very young age. He stood quickly, dropping Draco to the floor as he staggered to the door. He needed to talk to his godfather. Now.

He clumsily made his way out of the Slytherin dorms to the Potions Master's quarters, using the password that he had been giving to get in. "Dad…" he called out, his voice cracking as he stared into the dark rooms.

Severus Snape had an alarm to let him know when someone came into his quarters, knowing that only Kit would come in without knocking and only in an emergency. He hurried out of bed, wrapping his dressing robe around him and lighting the lamps with a gesture as he hurried into the main room of his quarters. "Kit?" The boy in question stood leaning against the door he had just come through, obviously shaken about something. The boy was also much pale than he had ever seen him before. "What's wrong, son?"

"I spanked him," Kit whispered.

"Spanked who? Malfoy?"

Kit just nodded, staring at the man he admired and respected.

Severus moved closer to him. "Tell me what happened, Kit."

He took a deep breath before answering. "I caught him sneaking out of the common room with Crabbe. They were headed to the trophy room because Draco had challenged Potter to a wizard's duel. I gave him a couple swats and then after asking him a couple questions I spanked him again. But I lost control, Dad. I lost it."

The Potions Master pulled the boy into a hug. "You may have lost control, son, but it happens to everyone. It's happened to me. No one is perfect. You aren't some kind of monster. Everything will be fine."

Kit nodded into his shoulder, his hands clutching the back of the man's robe.

Severus held the young man that he considered his son for a few moments longer. "Alright?"

Kit nodded again, taking a deep breath and stepping away. "Alright."

"Good. Then let's sit down and I need you to tell me exactly what you did."

Kit dropped onto the sofa and leaned his head back against the arm rest. He closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly what happened. "I gave him six swats the first time. And I'm not really sure how many I gave him the second time."

"Did you use anything?"

His eyes flew open and he looked over at his godfather. "What?! No! I didn't even think about using anything on him. You never used anything but your hand on me."

"That's right, but I know that Nan…"

"Nan used a spoon on me a couple times because she said that she couldn't get her point across with her hand as well as you and Pop did."

"What happened then?"

"He started crying…and he begged me to stop. And…oh Merlin! I just dropped him on the floor and left him. I just left him on the floor crying."

"Kit?"

"Hmm?"

"You can go talk to him after you calm down."

Kit nodded.

"What happened tonight can't happen again, Kit. Corporal punishment is no longer allowed at Hogwarts."

"I know I just…lost my temper."

"That can't happen again either. Remember what I told you the first night. If you feel yourself start to lose your temper, Stick him to a chair and walk away until you can deal with him calmly. I did it to you a few times."

"I know." Kit closed his eyes for a moment before looking over at his godfather. "Dad? Do you hate Draco?"

"Why would you ask a question like that?"

"Because he thinks you do. And you wouldn't let anyone else get away with some of the things I've done to Draco. All the other older Slytherins are limited to assigning chores, essays, lines, restricting them to their rooms or early bedtimes to their younger students. Yet I've washed his mouth out and even s-spanked him. It's almost like…it's almost like you want me to be hard on him."

Severus got up and walked over to the enchanted window. "It's complicated, Kit."

Kit stood. "I'm not asking you to explain it to me, Dad. I just thought you should know how he feels. How he thinks you feel. He told me that he's only ever seen you on his birthday. I just…I just want you to think about it." He started to leave the room, stopping when his godfather called his name.

"After you punish a child it is important to let them know that they are forgiven and that it's over. And you might want to find a way to show him that you've forgiven him. You always wanted a hug after I punished you." Kit nodded and started out the door again. "And I would apologize for spanking him excessively. That's not normal for either of us and he needs to know that it won't happen again."

"I will. Think about what I said, Dad," Kit told him before heading back to his room. He was surprised to see Draco sitting exactly where he had dropped him, hugging his knees and still crying. "Why are you on the floor?"

"Y-you t-told me n-not t-to move…" Draco sniffled.

"I did?" Kit asked, confused.

Draco just nodded.

"I didn't mean to leave you sitting on a sore bum," he said, moving over to the boy and holding out a hand to help him up.

He let his godbrother pull him to his feet. "It hurt to sit, but the cold kinda felt good."

Kit looked around the room before flicking his wrist and transfiguring his chair into a small sofa. "Let's sit and talk…or you can lie down…" Draco curled up on his side on the sofa and Kit said beside him. "Draco I…I shouldn't have spanked you."

"Is that what that was?" the boy asked.

"Yes. It is. And I shouldn't have done it. It's not allowed here at Hogwarts."

"But it's alright outside of Hogwarts?"

"It's something that many parents use as a way to discipline…to punish their children. Draco…" He sighed. "Draco, even if it was allowed, I went too far. I lost my temper and I lost control." He hesitated a moment before reaching out and brushing the hair away from Draco's face. An idea hit him then. "How about we start over?"

Draco leaned a bit into the gentle touch. "Start over?" he asked.

"I've always wanted a little brother. And you could use a big brother. So how about we start over…this time as brothers?"

Draco considered the idea. Some of the other Death Eater children that he knew had siblings and he had always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or a sister. Plus, he and Kit had the same godfather, so that made them brothers in a way. Maybe being Kit's brother would help him get closer to his godfather. Like Kit was. "Brothers," he said with a nod.

Kit smiled and held his hand out to the boy, who stared at it for a moment before launching himself at the older boy, wrapping his arms around his neck. Draco wasn't even really sure what he was doing, but he had seen one of the girls in his year do this to her older brother after they'd had a disagreement, so it seemed like the thing to do. Kit hesitated a moment before returning the hug. "I'm really sorry, Draco. I shouldn't have washed your mouth out that first night and I shouldn't have spanked you tonight either. Especially not the way I did the second time. Will you forgive me?"

It felt rather nice to have Kit's arms around him like that, but Draco pulled away, kneeling on the sofa. He bit his lip as he looked at the older boy. After a moment he asked, "What does forgive mean?"

Kit considered it a moment before answering. "When someone does something to hurt you, you get angry and upset, right?" Draco nodded. "To forgive someone, you have to let go of that hurt and anger and move on. Sometimes it isn't easy, but if you don't forgive then that anger just builds up inside you and you become a very bitter person. It's not healthy. What I did to you was wrong and I bet you are a little upset…and angry…"

Draco nodded again.

"Do you like the way it makes you feel in here?" he asked, tapping the boy's chest near his heart.

"Not really," he whispered. "It makes me feel…kinda…sad."

"When I think about what I did, I feel sad too. Can you forgive me for hurting you?"

He considered the older boy for a moment. "Yes."

"Thank you, short stuff."

Draco wrinkled his nose at Kit.

"Sometimes a parent, or _brother_, must punish a child when they've done something in order to teach them right from wrong."

"You punished me for challenging Potter to a duel and for trying to sneak out…"

"That's right. But I have forgiven you for what you did and now it's over."

Draco smiled at him, unable to explain this new feeling within him.

"And it is past time for us both to be in bed." He quickly transfigured the boy's uniform into pajamas. "To bed with you."

"Night Kit," Draco said, hurrying toward his bed. He stopped halfway there and came back to Kit. Once there he wasn't really sure what it was that he wanted.

"Would you like another hug?" Kit asked him.

Draco bit his lip and nodded.

Alright, he was going to have to break the boy of that habit. Kit gave him another hug and then sent him on to his bed.

"Kit?" Draco asked as he crawled under the green blanket.

"Yes?"

"Am I still grounded?"

"You most certainly are, short stuff."

--

Kit woke Draco the next morning in what had become a pattern for them…first by taking away his pillow and blankets and then by taking away his bed in necessary.

"It's too early," Draco whined as he stumbled sleepily into the bathroom.

"You shouldn't have stayed up so late last night," Kit replied, bringing clean clothes into the bathroom for the boy. Draco had learned to dress himself, but a morning person he was not, so Kit still helped him out a bit by setting the clean clothes out for him.

"Not my fault."

"Don't lie, short stuff," Kit told him, smirking as he charmed the shower cold. He was rewarded with a shriek from Draco and changed the water back to the proper temperature before leaving the boy alone to finish getting ready.

When Draco returned to their room, ready for the day, he glanced at the clock. "You got me up earlier than normal," he pouted.

"Yes. Because we're having breakfast with D…with the professor."

"Why?"

"Because the three of us need to talk about last night."

Draco nodded.

"I'm going to show you where his quarters are and give you the password, but you are not to use them unless it's an emergency, is that clear?"

"Yes Kit."

Kit led the boy down the hall to their godfather's quarters and used the password for them to go inside.

Severus was sitting at the table where a full breakfast was already laid out. "Good morning boys."

"Good morning, sir," Kit said, catching the man's eye.

Severus nodded.

"Good morning," Draco whispered as he took a seat at the table. When Kit started to prepare his plate, Draco did as well.

Once the two boys had started eating, Severus spoke again. "Draco, I don't know how much you know about godparents here in our world. In our world godparents are a second set of parents. Just as responsible for the well-being…and training and upbringing, even disciplining, as the parents. Godparents play a very active role in the life of the child."

"You haven't, sir," Draco whispered, not looking up at his godfather.

"You're right, Draco. I haven't. I've been up all night thinking about that," Severus said, looking at Kit. A silent _thank you_ passing between them. "A good part of the way I have acted toward you was because of your father. He and I have different opinions on the proper way to raise a child. I spoke to him once many years ago about the way that he was spoiling you. We quarreled and he said that I would only be allowed to see you if I stopped questioning his methods. After that it was easier to simply stay away."

"He's not here now…"

"Correct. But if he were to find out that I had disciplined you in any way, then he could have someone else named as your godfather."

Draco turned to Kit. "Would that mean we aren't brothers anymore?"

Severus looked back and forth between the two boys. What exactly had gone on after Kit went back to the room last night?

"We'll always be brothers," Kit told him. At his words Draco seemed to visibly relax.

"Draco." Severus waited until the boy looked back at him before continuing. "It's time I start taking a more active roll in your life. Your father has limited what I can do. However, Kit can act in my stead…as my proxy."

The younger boy looked back and forth between the two. "Does this mean I'm gonna get s-spanked again? Like last night…"

"If you follow the rules, then you won't have to worry about it. For smaller things your punishments will be the same as any other students, but there may be times where you will be spanked. If that were to happen, Kit will do it here in my quarters, but it will not happen in the dorms again. Had your father allowed me to help with in raising you the way I should have from the beginning, as your godparent I would have the authority to spank you even though it is against school policy. And I could tell you, young man, that you would have been over my knee for disobeying Madam Hooch."

Draco blushed and nodded.

"Hopefully it won't ever happen, but should Kit feel the need to spank you, he will discuss it with me first. That will also allow him time to calm down. A child must never be punished in anger. Or excessively. So if it were to happen again you would get no more than ten swats. Are you agreeable to this Kit?"

Kit turned to the younger boy. "Don't make me do it, little brother."

"I'll be good," Draco told him. "I swear."

--

Mercy Macnair was stretched out on the floor in front of the fireplace in the room shared by Draco and Kit. Draco was by her side watching as she looked over his Herbology notes. Kit was sitting at his desk working on his Potions essay. "You've taken some good notes, Draco," she told him. "But you'll never be able to study from them. You need to learn to organize them a little better. Here, let's start with the herbs you learned in class today. Get a fresh piece of parchment."

Draco pulled over a clean piece of parchment and grabbed a quill. "Alright, what do I do?"

She smiled at him. "Write down Aconite."

The boy did as he was told.

"Now, go through your notes and write down everything in there about Aconite. Lists work better for me. When you finish that, start with the next one." Once Draco got started, she got up and walked over to Kit, resting her hands on his shoulders.

He covered one of her hands with his. "Thanks for helping him."

"I don't mind, Kit. I was in his position when I came here. It's hard to go from being homeschooled or tutored to sitting in a classroom and listening to lectures and being expected to learn that way. He's smart. He just needed a little help."

"It means a lot to me, Mercy."

She bent down and kissed his forehead. "Get back to work on that essay. I know you want it to be perfect."

"He expects a lot more out of me."

"You expect a lot out of yourself."

He smiled. "It's the way I was raised."

She moved to lean against his desk. "How is your foster father?"

"He wasn't feeling too well when I left to come to school, but he said that he was better in his last letter. I think he misses Nan. We both do."

She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "She's in a better place now."

"I know," he said with a sad smile. He lifted her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. "Go on…I think Short Stuff's a little confused."

Mercy went back over to Draco and answered his question.

Kit checked his watch. "You've got Astronomy in ten minutes, Draco," he told the boy.

Draco nodded and shoved his things for class in his bag. "Do I have to go?"

"Yes, you do. Behave, kiddo."

"I will," he said as he left the room.


	4. Kit and the Troll

An hour before the Halloween Feast, Kit made his way to his godfather's office, having gotten a note from the man at the end of his last class. He knocked on the door and walked in after being bid to enter. "Hey Dad…" he said, trailing off when he saw his girlfriend sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. "Mercy?"

"Hello Kit," she whispered.

"I've asked her to join us," Severus told him. "Please have a seat, son."

He moved to sit in the other chair. "Have I done something wrong, sir?"

"No, son. You haven't done anything," the man replied, taking a deep breath. He really didn't want to have to tell Kit that he was going to be losing the man he considered a grandfather. Not after having been the one to tell the boy that his grandmother had died back during his first year. But at least Nan had gone quietly in her sleep and not after a long, drawn out illness. Severus had considered the older couple as his grandparents as well, having known them from the time he was a small child. He and Lily had spent many a summer afternoon enjoying Nan's biscuits and cinnamon bread. "It's…it's Pop."

The boy sat up quickly. "Pop? What's wrong? Did something happen? An accident?"

"Kit…" the Potions Master stood and moved around the desk to kneel in front of the boy. "Kit…he's got cancer."

"No…no, he can't," Kit said, shaking his head. "Pop's as healthy as a horse. He's never sick. Not even a cold. Well, he was a little sick this summer, but not that bad." Mercy moved her chair closer and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "It's not true…"

Severus took the boy's hands in his own firm grip. Kit leaned forward and rested his head on the man's shoulder, returning the tight grip on his hands. Mercy moved her hand to start rubbing his back. Severus eased one of his hands away from Kit's and brought it up to rest on the boy's head. "He found out this summer, but he didn't want to ruin your summer. And the doctors were hopeful that he would go into remission. But the treatments didn't work and the cancer got a lot worse. They say that there is nothing they can do."

Kit nodded against his shoulder. "How…how long?"

"Three or four months."

"Does…does he want me to come home?" Kit asked, his face still buried in his godfather's shoulder.

"He wants you to stay here since it is your O.W.L. year, but he said that he was not opposed to a short visit if you wanted to come."

"Think I can go?"

Severus nodded. "I'll arrange it tomorrow. You can take your schoolbooks with you to keep up with your studies."

"Thanks Dad," he whispered.

"You're welcome, son."

Kit took a few steadying breaths before sitting up. "Could I stay in your quarters instead of going to the Feast? I just don't feel like celebrating."

"That's fine, Kit," Severus told him. "I'm sure Mercy would look after Draco for you."

"Of course I will," Mercy said, still rubbing his back. "I'll take care of him."

"Thanks Mercy," Kit replied. He squeezed his godfather's hands again, before heading out the door.

"Will he be alright sir?" Mercy asked the Potions Master.

"He will be. He just needs some time. Thank you for being here for him, Miss Macnair," he told her, before raking his fingers through his hair and standing.

"I love him, sir. I hate seeing him like this."

"As do I, Miss Macnair. As do I."

--

_A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet._

_Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know."_

_He then sank to the floor in a dead faint._

_There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence._

"_Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"_

From Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone – pgs 172-173

--

Severus slipped out the door near the High Table after Quirrell's announcement about the troll in the dungeons. He and the Headmaster had exchanged a quick glance before he had left to go to the third floor. It was highly possible that someone, namely Quirrell, was going after the Stone. The other professors could handle the troll, but Severus was going to make sure no one even got close to the Stone.

As he raced toward the third floor corridor, he sent a mental message to Kit. They had discovered many years ago that in emergencies or times of distress, he and Kit could send brief messages to each other. Severus had been trying to figure out how they had ended up with such a bond, because they were not blood related. However, Severus had been in the boy's mind while teaching him Occlumency and best he could figure, they had formed some kind of bond through those lessons.

The message that he sent Kit was actually the memory of Quirrell telling the school about the troll and the Headmaster instructing the prefects to escort the students back to their Houses. He needed Kit to help get the Slytherins back to the common room. With Kit's magical power, all the little snakes would get back safely.

--

Kit had been staring at the fire in that was blazing in the Potions Master's quarters when the message came to him. Swearing, he jumped up and raced toward the Great Hall, wand in hand.

He met the Slytherins as they came down the stairs into the dungeons. "You got everyone?" he asked Avery, a seventh year prefect who was leading the group.

"I think so," the young man answered. "Macnair's got the back. Is it safe?"

"Yeah," Kit said with a nod. "I haven't seen anything."

He clapped Kit on the shoulder. "Do a headcount," he said as he led the group past.

Kit counted heads as his fellow Slytherins hurried past him. He grabbed Mercy's arm. "Where's Draco?" he asked her, having not seen him.

"I thought he was with Crabbe and Goyle," she answered.

He swore again. "Alright. I'll go find the brat."

She squeezed his hand. "Be careful."

"Always," he replied, giving her a quick kiss and running into the castle proper.

He stopped in the Entrance Hall and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the castle. The Slytherin table was the farthest from the side door that connected the Entrance Hall to the Great Hall and they had been the last to leave the Feast. As a result, this area of the castle was fairly quiet.

He turned to one of the suits of armor. "Excuse me, Sir Knight. Might you know the direction that young Malfoy went?" He wasn't sure if the armor would even be able to respond like the paintings did. But after only a moment of hesitation, one of the metal arms moved and pointed toward the right hand side of the first floor. "Thank you, Sir Knight," he said, giving a proper bow before following the armor's directions.

He raced up the stairs and down the hall, looking for his young charge. After a moment he found him hiding in an alcove behind a statue where that hall ran perpendicular to another hallway. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"T-t-troll…" Draco said, pointing behind Kit.

Kit glanced over his shoulder and saw a fully-grown mountain troll standing behind him, club raised and ready to strike. He dove behind the statue and covered Draco with his body as the troll swung his club, sending a desperate image across his connection with his godfather.

--

Severus Snape slammed the door to the room where Fluffy was hiding and leaned against it, swearing colorfully. The image from Kit had distracted him and allowed that massive three-headed dog to get a hold of his right ankle. He had only just managed to get his leg away from that beast.

Performing an extra set of locking charms on the door, he limped as fast as he could to the corridor that Kit had shown him in the image he had sent.

He found the boys exactly where Kit's image had said they were, but he was not prepared for the sight that met him. The statue was in pieces, some rather large, on top of Kit, who was laying face down…his body shielding Draco, who was crying and calling for the older boy to wake up, while trying to get out from under the weight of both the older boy and the statue. "Be still, Draco," he told the younger boy, before casting the first of several spells to stabilize the unconscious Kit for transport to the Infirmary.

"It's heavy," the young boy protested. "It hurts and I can't breathe."

Severus reached into the mess with one long-fingered hand. He gently grabbed the boy's chin, forcing Draco to meet his eyes. "If you don't calm down, you'll hurt Kit even more than he already is. I need to stabilize him before I can more him or the debris on his back. So please think about someone other than yourself for two seconds so that I can get this done."

Draco nodded and fell silent, waiting and watching while his godfather freed them.

He had just finished freeing the boys when Minerva and Quirrell skidded to a stop beside them. "Minerva, I need a portkey to the Infirmary," he told the woman. Only the Headmaster and the Deputy Head could create portkeys that would work within the school walls.

She nodded and prepared the portkey. As soon as it was finished, she sent them on their way to the Infirmary.

"W-w-what w-was t-that?" Quirrell asked after hearing a loud thud further down the hall.

The three teachers hurried down the hall to find the source of the thud.

--

After Minerva left with her three idiot first-years, Severus made his way to the Infirmary to check on his godsons and to get Poppy to take a look at his Fluffy-bitten leg. Honestly, how could Hagrid have named a monster like that Fluffy?

When he arrived in the Infirmary, Poppy had both boys in bed and she was standing over Kit running her diagnostic scans with a confused look on her face while Draco watched with interest.

"What's wrong, Poppy?" the Potions Master asked, his wand appearing in his hand as he approached Kit's bed.

She turned to look at him. "Just a moment," she said, running a diagnostic scan on the man. "Hmm. That's just what I thought."

"Poppy…"

With a flick of her wand, she summoned a potion and offered it to Draco. "You need to rest now, dear." He nodded and took the potion, falling asleep almost instantly.

"Will you tell me what is going on?" Severus asked her.

She turned back to look at him. "Severus…there isn't really an easy way to say this…"

"Say what?! What is wrong with Kit?"

"His magical signature is the same as yours, Severus. Not similar, but identical. I ran that diagnostic on you to be sure."

He sank onto the bed next to Kit's. "Poppy…that's impossible. I mean a blood child's would be similar, but even in the case of a half-blood it's never identical."

"I don't know how it happened," she told him, summoning the things she needed to fix his ankle. "But it has. Run the diagnostic for yourself. You know your own signature, correct?"

He nodded. "I ran it on myself when you taught me basic healing when I started spying for Albus." Severus stared at Kit for a moment before running the diagnostic scans that Poppy had been performing when he came into the room. When he saw the magical signature of the boy, his wand slipped from his fingers, clattering to the floor. "Dear Merlin. Poppy…"

"I know," she told him as she cleaned the bite on his ankle. "It's a bit startling."

"Just a bit? More than a bit, Poppy."

"I know you are close to the boy…"

"What is wrong with him?" he asked, his eyes coming to rest of his son.

"Right now I've got him in a healing sleep. He'll be fine, but he needs plenty of rest this next week. His back is badly bruised," she told the Potions Master.

He nodded. "His foster father has cancer and I was going to arrange for him to go home for a week."

"He can rest at home then," she replied.

Severus nodded again, thinking of the first time he had seen Kit.

_Sixteen-year-old Severus Snape made his way through the narrow streets and even narrower alleys of Spinner's End toward the home of Paul and Ruth Sharpe. He had known them since he was a small child and had always gone to their home when he needed to get away from his own._

_He couldn't help the sigh that escaped him as he passed the Evans home without stopping. Severus had never dreamed that things would end up like this between Lily and himself. He had tried apologizing to her for calling her a mudblood just before school ended. She said that she had forgiven him, but that he would have to earn her trust back. However, she had been avoiding him most of the summer. He had only seen her a handful of times and those had been in the week since his mother had died._

_Severus slipped into an alley and leaned against the wall, covering his face with his hands as tears threatened to fall. Eileen Snape had taken ill at the beginning of the summer and within a few weeks was gone. They had buried her just that morning and his father had gone to lose himself at his favorite tavern. Unable and unwilling to face an empty house, Severus was now headed to the only safe haven he had ever known: the Sharpe home. Paul and Ruth, whom he called Pop and Nan, were the closest thing he had ever had to grandparents and he loved them both dearly._

_After taking a few minutes to compose himself, Severus was just about to leave the alley when he heard a small sound in a pile of trash nearby. It almost sounded like a kitten. He started to leave again, but something drew him to the pile of trash. What he found was not a kitten, but a tiny baby, soaked through from the rain that had stopped only moments before. "Hey there," he said, bending down and carefully lifting the infant into his arms. "What are you doing out here?"_

_The baby only continued to whimper and cry in his arms._

_It didn't take long for Severus to make a decision on what to do. Instead of going to the Sharpe's like he planned, he turned and went back to his house. His father wouldn't be home until tomorrow at least. The owner of the tavern had several cots in the room above his tavern and his father frequently slept there. Severus might not know anything about this baby, but his instincts were telling him that this baby would die if it didn't get some attention right away and Severus couldn't bear the thought of anything else dying right now._

_Once in the house, he carried the baby down into the cellar where his mother had kept her potions lab. It was the only place in the house that his father never went. Severus had studied potions with his mother even before he had started primary school and was quite proficient on his own. He quickly dosed the baby with the potions he thought he needed. Thankfully, his mother had been filling an order for infant potions for St. Mungo's when she had collapsed just two days before her death. The order had never made it to the hospital and was still sitting on the table in her lab._

_Even after the fever reducer, the baby's fever seemed to grow even higher. Severus sat down on the cot against the wall, cradling the baby, now wrapped in dry clothes and a towel for a nappy, against his chest. He sat there for what seemed like hours, doing everything he could think of to break the baby's fever._

"_I don't know if there is anyone up there," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "But if you are, please don't let this baby die. I'll…I'll do whatever you want. Even if it means giving up my magic. Just don't let him die."_

Severus turned to look at Poppy. "I did it, Poppy," he told the woman he had cared for him for so many years. He raked his fingers through his hair. "When…when I found him, he was dying. He never should have made it through the night. I…I prayed and said that I would do anything, even give up my magic to save him. I'd just buried my mother and I couldn't bear to watch someone else die. I must have split my magic in order to save him."

"Severus," she said. "It's just not possible…"

"It's the only explanation that we have. I had to have done it. After I prayed, I sat there for several hours before I fell asleep. When I woke up I felt this…this connection to the baby. To Kit. It would also explain our bond…it's because we share magic."

She considered the middle of her three patients for several moments before nodding. "You know…you just may be right, Severus."

"I want to keep this quiet, Poppy."

She nodded. "You know I will."

--

When Poppy released the two boys the next day, Severus took them both to his quarters. The medi-witch had healed Kit's back but he would still be sore for a few days. Draco's only real injury had been a cut near his hairline from the flying pieces of stone, but Poppy had healed it right up, leaving only a faint scar.

Once in his quarters, he directed both boys to sit on the sofa, moving to stand in front of them. "Would one of you care to explain to me why you two weren't in the common room with the rest of the Slytherins last night?"

Kit hesitated slightly before answering. "I was looking for Draco." He knew that lying for the boy was not the way to handle this.

Severus looked at the younger of the two boys. "And why weren't you with the rest of them?"

"I uh…" Draco looked up at the Potions Master and bit his lip. "I saw Potter and Weasley leave the Gryffindors and I was looking for a teacher."

"Is that the truth?" he asked.

Draco looked down and shook his head. Oh, why did he just confess to lying? It was only going to get him into more trouble.

"How about telling me the truth this time?"

"I just wanted to see if a real troll was as ugly as the one in Kit's magical creatures book," the boy replied.

"You disobeyed the Headmaster and put the two of you in danger because you were curious? Draco Regulus Malfoy! You two could have been killed!"

Draco winced at the tone in his godfather's voice. "I'm sorry, Godfather."

"You most certainly will be when I finish with you. As your professor and Head of House, I'm giving you a weeks worth of detentions with me. As your godfather, well, that's a different story."

"What…what are you going to do?" he asked, glancing up at the man.

"We'll discuss it when I get back," Severus told him. "I'm going to take Kit home. I want you to stick your nose in the corner there until I get back."

"But…"

"Go!" Severus snapped, pointing to the only empty corner in his quarters.

Sighing, Draco got up and went over to the corner, sulking.

Severus took the bag that he had packed for Kit and flooed to Spinner's End with the older boy. He stayed long enough to check on Paul and to get Kit settled, leaving some Dreamless Sleep and other potions for him, before heading back to Hogwarts to deal with his errant younger godson.

"Come here, Draco," he said, dropping into his favorite chair in front of the hearth. The young Slytherin slowly moved over to face his godfather.

"What you did was incredibly foolish. Both you and Kit could have been killed. Rules exist for a reason, Draco. They are not suggestions."

"Yes, sir."

"You may not have had any rules to follow at the Manor, but it is different here. They much be obeyed. The Headmaster must be obeyed. He gave an order and you deliberately disobeyed him because you thought you knew better."

"It wasn't that…"

"This isn't open for discussion. You broke the rules and disobeyed an order and then you lied about it. I can not let you get away with this, Draco."

The boy looked down at the floor.

Sighing, Severus grabbed him by the arm and turned him, landing four hard swats on the seat of his trousers.

"Ow!" Draco cried out, his hand going to rub his backside as soon as the Potions Master let go of him. "I – I thought you said that Father wouldn't let you do that…"

"I don't think you'll tell him about this because then he would find out about you going after that troll. And I don't think you want that."

Draco quickly shook his head.

Severus stood and pulled the boy into a hug. "You are forgiven, Draco," he whispered to his younger godson.

**AN: For anyone interested, I posted a one-shot on Christmas Day called "All I Really Want". It is a prequel of sorts to the fic that I am co-writing with Snapegirlkmf. You can find "Apothecary Knows Best" under her profile. Both stories are very AU.**

**What do you think of the development between Kit and the Potions Master?**


	5. A Little Brother's Woes

Kit enjoyed the week with his foster father even though he knew it might be the last he would spend with the man. They had both needed plenty of rest, but when they hadn't been resting they had spent their time watching old home movies and going through the photo albums and scrapbooks that Nan had put together before her death. The photos were both Muggle and Wizard, as Severus had developed some of them himself.

His favorite picture was one of Pop, Severus and himself that had been taken shortly after the incident where he had told his Muggle schoolmates about his accidental magic. He had Severus had faced off against Pop in a battle using Kit's toy soldiers that Severus had charmed to come to life and respond to voice commands. Severus had also transfigured several items to create a battlefield on the living room floor. The three had been so engrossed in their epic battle that they hadn't noticed Nan taking pictures of them. He knew that Severus kept an enlarged copy of the picture in his quarters at Hogwarts.

There had been pictures of Kit with Nan and Pop on the first day of school every year. When he started at Hogwarts they had taken their annual picture before they had taken him to the station. Kit had been dressed in the plain, black robes the First Years wore before their Sorting. The next year the picture was of only Pop and Kit, this time dressed in his Slytherin robes. Kit had wondered briefly what would happen next year when Pop was gone.

Actually, Kit had tried not to think about the fact that the man was dying. Though there were times when Pop himself brought it up, usually giving Kit advice that he wouldn't need for another few years. But sometimes the man would take to Kit about the contents of his Will and the things he would need to do after the man's death. Those were some of the hardest conversations that they had and Kit had always need some time alone to pull himself together before joining Pop again.

Kit felt physically, mentally and emotionally weary when he stepped through the Floo into the Potions Master's quarters a week after Halloween. He gratefully accepted the embrace that the man offered, needing the comfort he offered.

"How is he?" Severus asked him after a moment.

"He seems in good spirits," Kit replied, moving to sit on the couch and helping himself to a cup of tea.

Severus sat back down on the opposite end of the couch. "How are you doing Kit?"

Kit sighed deeply, staring into his cup of tea. "Tired. Confused. Depressed."

"We'll get through this together, alright?"

Kit nodded. "How's Draco?"

"I think he's having some nightmares, but he won't admit it," Severus answered. "I've had him in detention every night this week."

"What have you had him doing?"

"He's been working in the lab with me and I've been teaching him the proper way to prepare ingredients. He didn't have any foundation in potions with his tutors, but he's picked up on it fairly quickly."

"Draco's a bright boy," Kit told the man he considered his father. "He just doesn't always put his mind to his work. Mercy or I always check his work before he turns it in."

"Thank you," Severus replied. He handed Kit two potion vials. "Dreamless Sleep, should either of you need it."

"Thanks, Dad," he whispered, accepting a brief hug from the Potions Master.

Kit wearily made his way back to his room, the two vials of Dreamless Sleep in the pocket of his robes. As tired as he was, he knew he needed to talk to Draco about why the boy wasn't sleeping. He knew that he was supposed to be helping the boy adjust to being at school, but he hadn't expected it to be this much work. Helping the boy learn to manage classes and homework was one thing, but teaching him how to dress, how to take care of himself and making sure that he ate and slept was something entirely different. It wasn't that Kit didn't care for the boy. No, Draco was the little brother that Kit had always wanted. But after the last week, Kit just didn't know how much more he could take.

When he finally arrived back in his room, he found Mercy in his chair with Draco curled up in her lap. The boy was sound asleep with his head resting on her shoulder. The boy was even paler than normal and there were dark circles under his eyes. His blond hair was dirty and matted. Kit sighed. "The professor said that he wasn't sleeping."

"Or eating or bathing as far as I can tell," she answered. "I assume he went to classes because I haven't heard different."

Nodding, he moved to sit on the arm of the chair and gave her a gentle kiss. "Thank you for keeping an eye on him."

"You're welcome, Kit. How is your pop?"

"Not good," he told her, standing and taking Draco from her. Together they moved to tuck the younger boy into his bed. A lazy flick of his wrist enlarged the chair that Mercy had been sitting in enough for them to share it. Once they were seated, Kit put his arms around her and she snuggled into his chest. "He's not going to live much longer, Mercy."

"I'm so sorry, Kit. I know you two are close."

"He's never been sick before, but I know that he misses Nan…"

Unsure how to respond to her hurting boyfriend, Mercy just hugged him tighter.

* * *

Quiet cries pulled Kit from his potion-induced sleep. He propped up on one elbow and rubbed his eyes. "Draco?" he asked, seeing the boy curled up at his feet.

"I…I had a bad dream," the smaller boy sniffled.

Kit sighed deeply and dropped back into his pillow. He started to simply send the boy back to his bed, but decided to do something that Severus had done for him when he had nightmares at that age. Slipping out of the bed, he motioned for Draco to follow him over to the boy's bed.

Draco hesitated a moment before climbing back into his own bed. "I wanted to see you when you got back…" he told Kit as the older boy tucked him in.

"You were sleeping," Kit replied, taking Draco's hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. "Snape and Mercy told me that you hadn't been sleeping, so I decided to let you sleep."

He sighed. "I kept having bad dreams."

"Then you ask Professor Snape or Madame Pomfrey for some Dreamless Sleep. He sent some back with me, but you were already sleeping so I decided not to wake you to take it. Do you want to tell me about your dream before I give you some?"

The boy hesitated and sighed. "The troll…"

"I've had some bad dreams about the troll too," Kit admitted. "It was kinda scary, huh?"

Draco nodded. "It really was. And you got hurt because of me."

"I did, but I'm fine now."

"I…I'm so sorry, Kit," Draco said, his grey eyes filling with tears again. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt…"

"I know, short stuff," Kit said, summoning the vial of potion from the table beside his bed. "Now take this and go back to sleep. We have classes tomorrow."

Draco drank the potion and handed the vial back to Kit. "I didn't go to all my classes while you were gone…"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," Kit said, tucking the blankets around the boy's shoulders again. He couldn't help but smile as Draco's hand sought his as the younger boy drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Are you mad at me?" Draco asked the next morning as he towel-dried his hair. Kit had told him to wash it at least two times because it was so filthy.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Kit responded, looking through the assignments that he had done over the last week.

Draco sighed softly. "The troll. Not going to classes. Not eating or sleeping…"

He turned and sat in the chair at his desk, motioning the boy closer. When Draco stood in front of him, he took the boy by the arms. "I am very upset about you going after that troll when you were sent to your dorm with the rest of the students. However, our godfather has punished you, so we're going to put that behind us.

"And the other…"

"I am upset with you for not going to your classes. The only excuse for not going to your classes was if you were in the Infirmary, and you weren't, were you?" Draco shook his head, looking down at the floor. "You are not to skip any more classes unless you have permission from our godfather, Madame Pomfrey or myself, is that understood?" Draco nodded. Kit sighed. "A verbal answer, please."

"Yes, Kit. I understand," the boy whispered. "Are...are you going to punish me?"

"No, but I want you to go to each of your professors and apologize for skipping their classes. And I want you to accept whatever punishment they give you."

Draco's eyes grew wide. "But...but..."

"But what?"

"Won't you get in trouble too? And then you'll get mad at me for getting you into trouble..."

"I'll talk to our godfather," Kit told him. "I think he'd make an exception in this case."

Draco nodded, looking down at the floor again. He hesitated a moment before speaking again. "Are you mad at me for not eating or sleeping?"

"No, short stuff," Kit replied, pulling Draco into his arms for a hug. "I'm not mad about that. You were bound to have nightmares after what happened with the troll. I'm not upset about that, but you should have talked to someone. Our godfather would have given you some Dreamless Sleep. And if you didn't want to talk to him about it, then you should have gone to Madame Pomfrey. She would have helped you without telling our godfather." Kit was quiet for a moment. "You didn't want him to know, did you?"

Draco shook his head, leaning against the older boy's shoulder. "It's a sign of weakness..." he whispered.

Kit sighed. "Did you hear that from your father?" Draco nodded. "It's not a weakness, kiddo, it admit that you need help because you can't sleep. I've been having some nightmares too. Some nights I talked to my father and some nights I would take Dreamless Sleep. You know, sometimes even our godfather takes it, Draco."

"He does?" Draco asked, turning to look at Kit.

"He does. Now...let's finished getting ready so that we aren't late for classes, alright?"

Draco nodded and hurried to finish dressing.

* * *

Kit paced back and forth in the Potions Master's quarters a few days later. "Why would Lucius call Draco home in the middle of the week, Dad?"

"Because he heard about all of the detentions that Draco received this week and he wasn't happy about it," Severus replied from where he was sitting at the table grading papers.

"Can he do that, though?"

"You went home just last week, Kit. It's not really all that uncommon in our world."

Kit sighed deeply, but continued his pacing.

"Why don't you stop trying to wear a path in my rug and come help me grade these essays..." Severus suggested, pushing a pile of untouched essays to the other side of the table.

The young man dropped into a chair and started helping the Potions Master grade essays. They had done this several times before, with Kit checking spelling and grammar while Severus checked for actual content. The continuous and familiar activity gave Kit a chance to settle down a bit. After a moment he looked up at his godfather. "Why am I so worried about him?"

"Because you care about the little brat," was the snarky reply.

"And you don't?" Kit asked with a smirk.

Severus gave him a look. "Just because you are fifteen and a prefect, doesn't mean that I won't take you over my knee for impertinence. "

"You haven't spanked me since I was twelve," Kit reminded him.

"And you earned every smack that I gave you too...running off like that."

Kit chuckled. "You threatened to never take me on another holiday with you for that one. I think that hurt worse than the spanking, and you smacked me real good that time."

"I did indeed," Severus replied. They worked in silence for a few more minutes before he spoke again. "Draco will be fine, son. Lucius spoils the boy."

"I know," Kit sighed. "I just...I have a bad feeling is all."

Before Severus could respond, the flames in the fireplace turned green and a small body tumbled from the flames. Swearing, the Potions Master jumped up from his chair, knocking it over. Kit beat him to Draco, having slid part of the way across the floor on his knees.

Kit placed his hand on the boy's back and pulled it away, looking up at Severus. His hand was bloody. "Dad..."

"Get that robe off," Severus told him, summoning the medical kit he kept in his quarters. He'd dealt with most of the injuries within Slytherin House over the years as most of his students were loath to go to the Infirmary.

As gently as he could, Kit eased the bloody robes off the poor boy, followed by the tattered shirt.

"Hurts," the small blond whimpered.

"I know, kiddo," Kit replied, brushing a strand of hair from his face. "Dad and I are going to fix you right up..."

Draco nodded weakly, latching onto Kit's hand.

Working together, Severus and Kit cleaned the boy's bloody back and after the wounds had been treated and bandaged, Severus had dressed Draco in one of his old shirts. The shirt had been quite large on the small boy, making him look even smaller. They placed the boy on his side on the sofa.

"Lucius?" Kit asked Severus as they washed up in the small kitchen.

Severus nodded. "He's never done anything like this before. Though his own father treated him this way."

Kit glanced over his shoulder at the injured, whimpering boy. "He could use your comfort, Dad..."

"Kit..."

"Just listen to me for a minute, please." He looked up at Severus, continuing when the man nodded. "He's your godson too. Just as much as I am. If it had been me, you wouldn't have let me go...you would have sat there and held me, bloody robes and all." Kit sighed deeply. "Look...I know that you and I have a special bond, Dad, but he needs you too. He doesn't have anyone who loves him, besides me."

Severus turned to look at the boy that he had helped raise. "But I..."

"I'm going to go back to my room for the night, Dad," Kit told him. "If you need to, just pretend that it's me that needs to be comforted." He turned and slipped from the room before the Potions Master had a chance to respond.

Sighing deeply, Severus finished cleaning up and went back to the papers he had been grading.

**AN: I know it's been months since I updated this story, but I just couldn't seem to get this chapter written no matter how hard I tried. The first part of this chapter was actually written right after I finished the last chapter, but every time I sat down to write some more my mind would go completely blank. In fact, this chapter is much shorter than I intended because I wanted to go ahead and post something. I hope you all enjoy.**


	6. A Note from Me

My dear readers,

I just wanted to let you all know that I have not forgotten you.

My last job ended rather suddenly at the beginning of May. I had known that the job was ending, but was thinking that I would be working through the end of the month. Part of working in the construction industry is knowing that jobs can end much quicker than we are expecting.

On May 25th, I received a call telling me that if I could be in Mobile, Alabama, by five that evening, I would have a job starting the next morning making $2 an hour more than I was at my last job. Needless to say I dropped everything and rushed to Mobile, arriving there with half an hour to spare.

I am working on the oil spill clean up at the Theodore staging area as the Administration Manager for Marine Operations and the Decontamination docks. Right now we're working 80 plus hours a week, so pretty much all I do when I get off is eat, shower and sleep. I'm putting in a lot of high stress hours, but I'm loving every minute of my job. I'm also getting to meet people from all over the country (and even President Obama. shh!). While I hate that the oil spill happened, I'm really enjoying this once in a lifetime experience.

Because I've been so busy, I haven't had much time for writing. I'm really not sure when I'll get time to write. But I promise to try and update whenever I get a chance. I love you all and really miss hearing from you.

Wishing you all the best,

Rae Kelly


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